Overview
Just when everything seemed to be falling in place, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) suffered a rather ignominious seven-wicket loss at the hands of Delhi Capitals. Interestingly, their next opponent, Mumbai Indians, too suffered a crushing loss at the hands of Chennai Super Kings after a bit of a resurgence. The two teams are also neck-to-neck in the points table with five wins each.
Despite the loss to Delhi, RCB had a few positives to take from the game. One of them was Mahipal Lomror, who ended up with his maiden IPL fifty. Previously, many had talked about the potential he showcased in age-group tournaments. The fifty against Delhi, hopefully, would turn out to the foundation stone for a run of consistent scores.
On the bowling front, Josh Hazlewood seems to have found his groove after returning from an Achilles’ injury. He has developed a fine off-cutter, which has helped him to deceive a few batters. On the other hand, Dinesh Karthik’s poor form with both the bat and gloves continues to be a worry for the think-tank.
Mumbai too have their share of worries. One of them is the poor form of Rohit Sharma, with the captain having scored just 184 runs at an average of 18.4 while opening the batting. Even though Jofra Archer has returned from his persistent elbow injury, he still seems to be searching for rhythm. He did, however, look in better form in the game against Chennai. With Archer having the ability to get consistent nip off the surface, Mumbai could look at opening the bowling with him. Arshad Khan, the left-arm pace bowler, has picked up five wickets so far but he has conceded more than 13 runs an over. Mumbai’s biggest plus point is their explosive batting unit. And they would be hoping for that to fire on a true surface at the Wankhede.
Time and venue details
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. 7.30 PM.
Expected conditions and toss
One can expect another true surface at the Wankhede, with batters enjoying the even bounce. Expected humidity is around 65 per cent, so there could be some dew later. The team winning the toss looks set to bat first.
Head-to-head record
Mumbai hold a 17-14 edge over Bangalore.
Possible XIs and Impact Player
Tilak Varma, who missed the last game due to an injury, could slot back into the Mumbai XI. Mumabi could look at Kumar Kartikeya, Ramandeep Singh or Dewald Brevis as their Impact sub. Bangalore looks set to opt for Harshal Patel.
Mumbai Indians: Cameron Green, Ishan Kishan (WK), Rohit Sharma (C), Nehal Wadhera/Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, Tim David, Arshad Khan, Jofra Archer, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (C), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Anuj Rawat, Kedar Jadhav, Wanindu Hasaranga, Karn Sharma , Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood.